Review ~ The Man Who Can't Be Moved by Tilly Tennant.

Fledgling journalist Ellie Newton is keen to prove herself when she lands a hard-won job at the Millrise Echo. So when reports come in of a man camped on the corner of a local street, refusing to move until the girl who has jilted him takes him back, Ellie is on a mission to get the scoop.

She arrives to meet Ben Kelly, a man she is instantly attracted to. But she has a job to do and an incredible story to write and has soon pledged to help him win back the girl of his dreams. With Ellie’s help, Ben’s plight captures the hearts and imaginations of the public. And when a TV film crew appears to make a feature on the most romantic gesture the town of Millrise has ever seen, Ellie’s mission gets its happy ending...

But while Ellie has been busy fixing the lives of her wayward parents, providing shoulders for heartbroken friends to cry on, and worrying about her terminally-ill aunt, she hasn’t noticed that she has also been falling quietly in love – with the very man she has now ensured is hopelessly out of her reach.

Ellie must choose between doing the right thing, and the thing that feels right. And whatever choice she makes, someone will get their heart broken.

I instantly became a big fan of Tilly Tennant once I read her debut novel Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn earlier this year. Her festive novella Mishaps and Mistletoe published just over a month ago was magical and beautiful and so another book so soon had me thrilled. The Man Who Can’t Be Moved had everything going for it, in my opinion – the gorgeous cover, the catchy title inspired by a song which will be stuck in your head throughout the whole book, a romantic story and another set of endearing characters. I read The Man Who Can’t Be Moved in less than a day and thought this was by far Tilly’s best novel yet!

As soon as we meet the main character Ellie, we see just how hectic her life is. She’s busy trying to sort out the issues between her parents, busy trying to care for her seriously ill aunt Hazel and busy trying to catch up with her best friends in London – let alone trying hard to impress as a journalist at the Millrise Echo. Straight away it’s obvious how she spends a lot of time putting other people first. She’s caring and selfless and I really liked her character, whilst at the same time wanting her to slow down too. We see her go out to report on Ben Kelly, a guy camping out on a street corner in the hope it will be a gesture grand enough to win back his ex-girlfriend Gemma. Whether it was romantic, stupid or a bit of a both, I loved his approach and the entire concept of The Man Who Can’t Be Moved was very entertaining. Ben’s character was super sweet and he became one of my favourite male characters I’ve read this year. I loved his spirit and his attitude. The way the women on Constance Street acted towards him brought many humorous moments – from the way they’d constantly try and feed him up or make him drinks, to how eager they were to be around when the press were involved. The typical neighbourhood busy-bodies, maybe, or just women who have hearts of gold - they were developed realistically and I found them great fun to read.

Tilly Tennant has this really recognisable style of writing which I just adore. She builds on scenarios that might at first feel a bit unreal, but full of heart and imagination, and then makes them so easy to believe and buy into. I loved reading the slow-building little sparks between Ellie and Ben and was always rooting for a happy ending. The Man Who Can’t Be Moved is the perfect read for the hopeless romantic. All the little touches written into this novel were lovely to read too. The fleeting mentions of Holden Finn from Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn were a clever way to get the reader thinking of where life might have taken another difficult to forget character Tilly has created. I also loved how journalism in an often quiet area was represented – the days when nothing interesting is really happening and the others where even just one fascinating scoop can have the whole workplace buzzing. Ellie’s friendship with the photographer Patrick and some of her other colleagues like Ange were a highlight of this novel for me too – I loved the banter and the wit in their dialogue, along with the all-out loyalty they had towards one another.

Though I would say The Man Who Can’t Be Moved is a feel-good novel, the synopsis suggests something a little more emotional is involved and Hazel’s illness provided some more moving moments in the novel. I thought the terminal illness aspect might hit a nerve for me but it was touching and delivered in Tilly’s usual gorgeous manner. This book is beautiful right the way through and I found myself wrapped up in the lives of so many different characters – the bold, funny and considerate to the stubborn and obstinate. Tilly creates stories full warmth and emotion, packed with vivid characters and endless escapism – I can’t recommend The Man Who Can’t Be Moved enough.